Independent Advisor Alliance Decreases Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Independent Advisor Alliance lessened its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 7.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 48,054 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,725 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $10,612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter valued at about $40,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the second quarter worth $43,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 47.0% during the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gladwyn Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $222.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $194.11 and a one year high of $242.58. The stock has a market cap of $89.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $219.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $219.22.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.25%.

Key Stories Impacting Waste Management

Here are the key news stories impacting Waste Management this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple broker upgrades/price-target raises signal analyst confidence and create upside expectations — notable lifts include TD Cowen raising its target to $270 (Buy), Oppenheimer to $264 (Outperform), Wells Fargo to $250 (Overweight), Stifel to $252 (Buy) and RBC to $235 (Sector Perform). These raises help underpin demand and longer-term upside.
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat piece argues WM is in a trend-following rally, supported by widening margins, accelerating free cash flow and a resumed buyback plan — factors that can sustain share-price appreciation. Waste Management’s “Boring” Business Is Powering a Quiet Rally
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend and buyback tailwinds: WM raised its dividend and signaled intent to resume repurchases (guidance assumes ~$2B in buybacks), improving shareholder-return prospects and offsetting share-based dilution over time. (Referenced in MarketBeat coverage.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry report notes long-term demand in specialized waste markets (solid control drilling waste mgmt. forecast to 2035) — a potential structural tailwind but only indirectly tied to WM’s near-term earnings. Solid Control Drilling Waste Management Market Size
• Neutral Sentiment: Full Q4 earnings call transcript is available for investors wanting detail on segment performance and management commentary; useful for parsing how sustainable margin and cash-flow commentary is. Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results missed expectations on both EPS ($1.93 vs. ~$1.95 est.) and revenue (came up short of estimates). The miss pressured the stock as it undercut near-term growth/beat expectations that had supported the rally. Waste Management Stock Falls After Disappointing Q4 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance was slightly below Street expectations (revenue/growth assumptions modest), leaving room for disappointment if execution slips — this is the primary catalyst for short-term downside risk.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. DZ Bank began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total transaction of $299,542.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,373,112.40. This trade represents a 8.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.